After the Games
by theGreatEpiphany
Summary: As Peeta and Katniss return to District twelve, still with the threat of the Capitol looming over their heads, they find that not everything is as it seems. Desperate for answers, Katniss realizes that there are other questions that need answering, too.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing I am aware of is the deafening roar of the crowd. They cheer as Peeta and I step off the train, me clinging as tightly to his hand as I did in the very beginning. He barely returns the pressure, and it makes facing this mass of people that much harder.

"Katniss! Peeta! Over here, look here, Katniss!" they scream at us. For a moment I am only very confused, blinded by the flashbulbs and deafened by cries of homecoming. And then, all at once, it comes back to me because I see Prim and my mother, the closest they have been in more than a month.

I let go of my hold on Peeta and run for them, sweeping Prim up in my arms, letting my mother hold me close. Prim is crying into my hair, and my mother probably is too, and I all I can do is tell them I love them, I love them, I love them.

Distantly, I am aware still of the crowd, and the people, and the cameras – aware that this is probably being broadcast to the better part of Panem, but I can't quite bring myself to care. Somewhere nearby, Peeta has found his family too. I can hear his brothers shouting cheers of delight, clapping him on the shoulder as they hug him tight. His father is looking sort of weepy, and even his mother is smiling and holding her son. It makes me happy to see a smile on his face; it takes away some of the guilt that is keeping this moment from being absolutely perfect.

Finally, after what seems like forever, I let go of Prim and my mother enough so that I can see their faces. "You won, Katniss! You came back!" Prim is saying, beaming at me as tears pour down her face.

"I told you I would do my best." I say, remembering my promise to her.

"I am so proud of you, Katniss." My mother says quietly, near my ear. Surprisingly enough, I find that I am pleased to have her approval, her pride. And I'm so relieved that she has stayed here for Prim, who, despite looking tired and worn, looks as well fed as ever.

"Miss Everdeen," a voice says from behind me, and I turn to see Mayor Undersee, a small, tired smile on his face. He holds his hand out to me, and I shake it. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." I nod respectfully, though I wonder if the Capitol has been in touch with him lately. In my mind, I can still see the cold, accusing glare of President Snow at the ceremonies. It sends a shiver down my spine, and my mother rubs my arm, mistakenly trying to warm me.

"It is the request of the Capitol, and the district, that we have a few pictures taken." Mayor Undersee says almost ruefully. "We can finish those very quickly and then you and your family may go home."

Home. What is my home now? Certainly it's not the little shack we have inhabited since I can remember. One of those vast mansions in the Victor's Village? Somehow, I cannot really picture either. I cannot picture having a home at all.

"Katniss?" Prim's voice breaks through my thoughts.

"What? Yes? What is it?"

"They want to take the pictures now – over there." She points to where Peeta, the Mayor, Effie Trinket, and Haymitch have all gathered in front of the Justice Building.

"Oh. Right. I'll be right back, promise." I smile at Prim and my mother before I turn to join the rest of them for pictures. The photographer groups us all together, Peeta and I on either side of Mayor Undersee, Haymitch and Effie to our left and right. He snaps at least two dozen photos, but before letting us go, he insists that one be taken of Peeta and I together.

I look to Peeta warily, and I'm not at all encouraged to see that the smile is entirely gone from his face. "For the crowd?" he mouths. I nod, relieved in a way, and stand by his side. I firmly intertwine our fingers, and, hesitantly, I feel his arm slip around my waist. The little cameraman clicks away, switching angles, flipping his lenses. Finally, it seems he is done.

"Perfect." He says, snapping one last shot. Yes, I think to myself as I see a new face surface in the crowd. "Perfect." I whisper, as my eyes lock with Gale.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but I really want this story to be good. I'll get the next chapter up sooner, I hope, and as always, reviews are appreciated. **

I am locked in the gaze of Gale's cool gray eyes, and I can't move, even though I'm getting the feeling that Peeta would really like to go. It's the strangest feeling. I am thrilled to see him, nearly as happy as I was to see Prim again. At the same time, though, I feel a rush of something that reminds me very much of guilt.

Despite the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I can feel the smile that stretches across my face, and I see the corners of his lips twist up into a smile for just a second, until his eyes flick over to the boy standing at my side, arms still around me. I can't quite place the look on Gale's face. He's seems to be battling something inside himself, and the smile is gone, replaced by a stony gaze.

"Excuse me," I mumble to Peeta, and to the reporters that are gathering like hawks around us. My feet carry me across the square, following a dark head of hair as it weaves in and out of the crowds. It's harder to get through the crowds than I expected – everyone it seems wants to congratulate me, and I have to plow through them to keep pace. Finally he stops, standing by the mouth of an alleyway only a few yards ahead of me.

I break through the final edges of the mass of people to see him leaning against one of the gray stonewalls of a shop, raking a hand through his shaggy black hair. He's looking down at the ground, so he doesn't see me at first, but when he does the reaction is immediate. Just like before the games.

I run forward and launch myself into his arms. He smells like soap and wood smoke and the forest – he smells of home. "You kept them safe," I whisper into his shirt. My voice is sort raw sounding, rough with emotion.

"Of course." Gale replies, pulling back. He's grinning at me. "You won." He says in the exact same way.

"Of course." I answer, smirking at him.

"I wasn't so sure, you know," he admits, half-teasing, but half-serious. I see a sort of shadow settle across his features as he speaks. "When that girl had you at the feast."

"Clove." I murmur. It's so strange to think that she's dead. They're all dead. Everyone last one of them besides Peeta and me. All of a sudden, I'm hit once again by the deaths of everyone in the arena; Thresh, who spared my life; Glimmer, driven mad by the tracker jacker venom; Cato who I despised; Rue, who I loved.

It's all too much. The Games and the death, the tired faces of my family, the hollow look in Peeta's eyes. Back farther to Prim wasting away, my mother's emptiness, and my father's death. All of it is too much and I can't think, I can't breathe.

"Katniss? Katniss!" I hear someone calling my name frantically, as the ground swirls up around me. I am dimly aware that it hurts, everything hurts, and then the world is black.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know this chapter took ages, and I'm sorry. Things have been really busy lately with break and everything, and I'll be able to get the next chapter up sooner.

This is a dream. Of course it is. It has to be.

Through the haze of blackness, like a veil hung in front of my eyes, I see two things: the first thing is Gale's face, only inches away from mine, looking worried like I've hardly ever seen him before. The second is the thin frame of a girl, crouched back into the dark of the alleyway, watching me intently. Given my newfound fame, this shouldn't really surprise me. But this girl I know.

She's pale and thin with long red hair and knowing eyes – the Avox girl.

Words bubble up to my lips, but I can't seem to speak. I am aware of Gale sliding his arms around me and lifting me up to pull me farther into the alleyway and out of sight. The Avox girl's eyes widen as Gale moves closer to where she is hidden; she raises a finger to her lips, giving the slightest shake of her head, and ducks swiftly around the corner, gone. _No!_ I want to shout. _Come back_, but I still can't seem to move anything.

I have got to be hallucinating.

"Katniss!" Gale whispers, seeing that my eyes are open. "Katniss, can you hear me?" he asks. When I don't respond, he grabs my hand tightly in his own, but I can't feel it. It's like my entire body's gone numb. "Squeeze my hand." I can't move. "Come on, there's no time! They're looking for you now, everyone is. Do you want to be found catatonic, alone in an alleyway with me, shown to all of Panem?" he asks, trying to rally me into consciousness. "Katniss, come on! Please! What will Prim think if she sees you like this?"

Ah, Prim. What would happen to her and my mother if they knew what the Games had done to me? What would happen to Peeta, or Gale for that matter, if people found us here, alone, and me like this?

With the all the strength I can manage, I close my fingers around his hand. I hear him breathe out a sigh of relief. "Catnip?"

I feel feeling come back into my fingers, feel it run though my limbs and my chest, till it fills me up, and I can feel everything; the breeze that floats through the streets; Gale's hand wrapped around mine; an aching sore spot on my temple that I'm sure will leave a bruise.

"Gale." I say quietly, but I can't keep the urgency out of my voice. "Gale, did you see her?"

"Who?" He asks, frowning at me. "There's no one around. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But – " I begin, then think better of it. It was a dream. I hit my head after passing out from stress. It makes perfect sense that I would start hallucinating. " – No. No, you're right. Never mind." I shake my head, trying to clear it.

"Right." He says evenly, but I know he won't forget it. "Look, you should go. They'll wonder where you are."

"Okay. I'll see you later, then?"

"Sure." He agrees, nodding. "See you later."

"Bye," I try to smile as I leave, even though my head is pounding, Gale thinks I'm sick or crazy – probably both – and no matter what I tell myself, I know that I wasn't imagining anything.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Again, it took a long time. But I did try to make the chapter longer (a little...). **

As soon as I step back into the square, I am engulfed in the crowd. Bright flashes of light mark the spots where cameras snap my picture from every angle. I can only see the unfamiliar faces of reporters and fans buzzing around me, shouting questions my way. And then, suddenly, I am tight in a familiar embrace.

"Where were you?" Peeta whispers sharply, though he probably looks the exact image of a boy in love.

"With a friend." I say in response, with a smile, just in case.

"They're still watching." He tells me, putting his lips very close to my ear. "You have to be careful, Katniss." He says my name differently now, with a sort of hopeless, tired anger. It twists around inside me, and for a second, I almost wish we were back in the arena. Things were simpler there, if nothing else. Run, hunt, hide. Be in love. Play the part. But here, now that I am home, there are people to answer to, truths to be told.

"I'm sorry." I say finally, but in my voice it's obvious that this is not the only thing I'm sorry for.

Peeta doesn't answer.

The time passes by sluggishly. Haymitch came by after Peeta left and told me we'd have to stay in the square for a while longer. So far a while has been about an hour. I take more pictures, answer questions from reporters, and sit with Prim and my mother. I've missed them so much; I can hardly bear to let them out of my sight – Prim especially. In a brief moment where I am left without people to shake hands with, or reporters to talk to, the baker comes up to me.

"Thank you." I blurt out before he can say anything. I immediately feel the flush of heat that rushes to my cheeks, but I don't care. He's probably given up some of his own meal for my family; I can't thank him enough.

He grunts something and nods, assessing me with eyes the same clear blue as Peeta's. "Your sister and your mother, they aren't strong like you." He says slowly, considering his words. "She couldn't have done what you did. Couldn't have saved him."

I shake my head, surprised by this. "No, Prim's the one who's good at that. She and my mother can heal almost anything. He probably would've – would've kept his leg if they were there." I say softly, feeling again guilty that I couldn't save everything.

"She doesn't hunt, your sister. Wouldn't have made it that far." I shrug, allowing this, because I know it's true. It seems odd that he's saying all this. The baker is a quiet man, and even this small communication is unusually talkative for him.

"If it were Prim they wouldn't have changed the rules. He wouldn't be alive." The baker mutters. "Only you can do that." He's watching my reaction, but all I feel is stunned. Because the way he said that – that only I _can_ do it – it makes me think that he knows it's not over. And also that he knows that the way I feel about Peeta – however that is – is not what it appears to be.

"Peeta saved my life, too," I mumble stupidly, because I don't know what else to say. "More than once." This isn't the time or place to go into details.

"I count on you to return the favor." He says gently, and his eyes are solemn. "Be safe, Katniss." He mumbles so quietly I'm not entirely sure he said anything at all, before walking away to go talk with another shop owner.

I stand for a minute, slightly stunned, before Haymitch fills the baker's spot. "Hey, sweetheart, how you doing?" he asks.

"Um, fine." I shake my head a little, to clear it. "About ready to go home." I add, and the corner of his mouth twitches up slightly.

"Eventually." He promises. There is a slight pause before he continues. "Peeta's been missing you." He gives me a meaningful look that I take to mean something along the lines of: "Get it together, before you ruin everything."

"Oh? I was just about to go looking for him." I smile at him. "If you don't mind…"

"Not at all." I hear him mutter sarcastically, as I turn my back to him and face the crowd, looking for Peeta's strong frame among them. There's a bright head of hair, the exact golden-wheat color of Peeta's, near the edge of the square, so I head in that direction.

Peeta comes into sight at about the same time that Gale does. _NO. What are they doing? _I think, speeding up. They both look tense, but neither of them is shouting so I take that as a good sign. Peeta catches sight of me first, and he turns away from Gale to face me. "Katniss, did you see her, too?"

"Who?" I ask slowly. This isn't what I expected. He must be talking about the Avox girl – who else? But that would mean that I wasn't hallucinating (which on the bright side, means I'm not crazy), and that she's really here, which means we're in a lot more trouble than I realized.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't think I'm getting the hang of this "posting chapters quick" thing. Ah, well. It is longer though! Here's chapter five, and I know some people have been saying it needs more action, well, here it is. Sort of. The beginning of action is at the very end of the chapter. Gotta love irony. Hope you enjoy!**

"Who? Who are you talking about?" I repeat, when Peeta doesn't answer. He can't possibly mean who I think he means, can he?

He looks at me, scanning me with those lake-blue eyes as if he's deciding something. "Delly. Delly Cartwright. He," Peeta gives a jerky nod indicating Gale, "said that he thought you saw her." He's looking at me carefully, making sure I understand. Of course, I do.

"Delly, right. She's here then?" my voice is remarkably unpanicked, though inside there's a whirlwind of questions. What is she doing here? How did she get out of the capitol? When will they realize she's gone, and what happens then?

"She's got to be, we all saw her." Peeta says.

"Gale didn't."

"Yes, I did. She was still in the alleyway after you left." Gale informs me. "I only saw her for a second."

"Wait, hang on. Alleyway? What were you doing alone in an alleyway?" Peeta inserts almost angrily, raising his eyebrows at Gale.\

"Nothing you need to know about." Gale replies coolly, crossing his arms over his chest.

At the same time, I say hastily, "Apparently we weren't alone. We need to know what she's doing here."

"There's no way we can find out." Peeta takes a step closer to me, lowering his voice. He puts his lips to my ear, so they can't be seen. "You know we're being tracked. Always." He leans away again, and there is a second of silence.

"I'm not." Gale says after a moment. I'm surprised he even heard what Peeta was saying. "I'm not being watched. Why would I be? I'm just some lowly kid from the Seam." he chuckles humorlessly. "I'm not even eligible for the reaping anymore." "I can look for her."

"And what happens when you get caught sneaking around after and Avox?"

"I won't get caught." He replies with an easy confidence. "What's an Avox?" he asks, turning to me.

"Traitor. They take them to the Capitol and cut out their tongues; make them servants. For the rest of their lives." I say bluntly. "There is no way she could have gotten this far without being caught."

"Obviously she did, though." Gale lowers his voice to a near whisper. "You don't think there's anyone with her?"

I haven't even considered this idea. "Maybe. There was last time."

"When you saw her in the woods?" This from Peeta.

"Yes," I answer.

"You told him about that?" Gale demands, looking sort of astonished.

"Yes; I had to."

"You trust him that much? He could turn you in to the Capitol, Katniss! He could get you killed!" Gale exclaims, his voice getting dangerously loud.

"Gale, anything he says puts him in as much danger as me!" I whisper fiercely, shushing him. "I trust him." My eyes are trained at my feet, and for the second time today, I feel my cheeks flame up. It's true – obviously I trust Peeta with my life. He and Gale are perhaps the two people in the world I would trust with that.

The silence that follows my unexpected statement seems to stretch out unbearably long, an unbroken thread pulled too tight, until finally, Gale's voice breaks through. "Well, then." I glance up at him. He's utterly emotionless, a blank face, but I can see – more than that I can _feel_ – that I've crossed some sort of line.

"Gale – " I begin.

" – I should go."

"Don't." It's all I can say. With Gale, the best thing to do is to just let him go steam in the woods. Better he do it there than in the middle of the square, cameras pointed in every direction.

"Katniss." He shakes his head once. A sarcastic smile twists his mouth. "You two just figure it out." His voice is biting. "Let me know when you do." Gale shakes his head again and turns to go, running a hand through his messy, black hair.

I stand there, feeling as totally helpless as I have in a long while. "Katniss, he'll…Gale will come around." Peeta says almost unwillingly, like he's really wishing that it wasn't true. He sounds different though, than when he was talking to me before. Less mad, more confused. My trusting his probably took him by surprise. I guess realizing that I was lying to him half the time in the arena didn't exactly lead him to think I would trust him.

As I'm watching Gale disappear through the crowd, Peeta comes to stand at my side. He twines his fingers through mine, and for once it feels natural, comforting. Not staged for the crowd and the reporters.

"Katniss, I –" Peeta begins, but suddenly his voice stops, because from just to the right of where we're standing, there's a huge, echoing bang, followed by a flare of red and gold flames. Screams and cries echo throughout the square, as it fills with heavy black smoke, blocking out everything. Everything, except for the briefest glimpse of two people, one, I notice, with red hair, running through the crowd, out of the square towards Seam, and farther out, the woods.

I can't see anything at all, then, except for vague, smoky figures, like shadows moving all around me. Peeta's hand clutches tightly to mine, a lifeline in this suddenly dark, hazy world. "Katniss," Peeta shouts through the din. "Hang on!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Please read and review!**

Through all the smoke and the fog, I can barely see farther than my outstretched hand. The fingers of my other hand are locked around Peeta's like a vice. I can feel the panic reaching all the corners of the square as people realize what's happened, and suddenly, my thought's are all coming in urgent bursts: _Find Gale. Find Prim and my mother. Get out. _

"This way." Gale is suddenly there, more shadow than solid. He grabs my free hand and tries to lead me away from where I'm headed, to the middle of the square, to where I know Prim must be. "Katniss, come on! There isn't time." He sounds urgent, but I can't let Prim go, not again. I cannot – will not – do it.

"I need to find her!" I shout, nearing hysterics. My eyes are frantically trying to penetrate through the smoke – to see anything at all – but it's impossible.

"We have to – " he begins again, but I cut him off.

"_No_." I insist, pulling away from him. If he won't help me then I'll go alone.

"Katniss," Peeta's voice is very close, though he's barely visible. "Katniss, you can't." he says softly. Gently, even. And that's the last straw – I'm sick of this, of everything, of people telling me what to do and how to act. Sick of people telling me to smile and paint a pretty picture on my face. I am sick of being told that I can't stop anyone, I am sick of having no control. Even when I try to rebel, to change something, to make people see, it doesn't matter. If anything, the Capitol just has more control over me now.

But this – this I _do _control. And I will not let Prim go again. I won't put her through that, or my mother, if I can help it.

Before I can stop myself, I'm shaking my head. I don't know if he can see it or merely sense it, but Gale knows what I'm doing before I do it. "Stop– " he begins, but I've already ripped my hands free from theirs.

"Meet me at our spot!" I shout with as much force as I can, but saying anything is getting hard, the smoke is so thick. Both of them shout something in response, but I don't really hear because suddenly I'm not there any more. My feet are flying beneath me, blazing through the mass of people. If it weren't for the steady pound of my heels on the stone, I'd think I was flying.

When I think I've reached the middle of the square, closer to where the explosion went off, I slow down. "Prim? Prim!" I shout into the haze, hoping that she'll hear me above the noise. I shout until my voice is rough and gravelly, until my throat feels like it's edged in sandpaper. "Mom? Where are you? Prim? It's me, it's Katniss!"

All of a sudden, something warm and pulsing grabs my hand, holding it fast. But the relief is gone as quickly as it comes when I realize the hand around mine is much bigger than Prim's or my mother's, much rougher. Before I can defend myself, another huge hand presses over my mouth, silencing any sort of scream that could rise from my raw throat. The hand that was around mine moves and suddenly I'm bound by arms that must be as thick as tree roots, and twice as strong. There is no point in struggling – I've never been strong in hand-to-hand combat – but I do anyway.

I'm so stupid, I think. It was a trap, of course it was. But surely the Capitol has easier, cleaner ways to kill me if that's what they're after. Why go through all this trouble? So someone else must be controlling the whole thing. But who?

The person that's binding me is moving – running, judging by the thick whip of wind on my face. I wonder where he's taking me, if Peeta and Gale will wonder what's happened to me.

And Prim. My mother. What will they think when I haven't come for them, when I don't come back? I considering fighting again, biting the hand over my mouth, kicking the shins of my attacker. After all I've got nothing to lose.

As if reading my mind, a voice, deep and strangely familiar, growls in my ear. "Don't bother fighting. There's not much point where we're going."

* * *

For the next twenty minutes or so, he runs. Whoever it is must be superhuman, because, even with my added weight, they haven't slowed. For the first ten minutes, the world was invisible; I couldn't see anything, but the thick smog. But as we moved away from the square, the smoke thinned, clearer and clearer till it was no more than a film of gray on everything. Despite my situation, I found that I was glad to see again; blindness, I've realized, like deafness (even temporarily), is not something I enjoy.

I recognize where we are now, though – the back alleys of the Seam. It's familiar though I haven't been here in ages it seems, not since the reaping. The streets are barren and empty, everyone having fled for their homes, or still stuck in the square. It's like a ghost town.

"Not far now," he says, slowing slightly, as we approach a familiar stretch of flat field, and the metal fence that's far in the distance.

When we reach the fence, he sets me down roughly, still binding my arms behind my back so tight that they feel like they might pop out of their sockets. He stands behind me carefully, so that I can't see his face. "You first," he prods me a little. I pause a second before going through, considering my options. If I run fast enough, I can probably manage to get away. I know these forests better than anyone. As I slip beneath the metal, poised to sprint, there is a grunt, and I feel the heavy grip of his fingers around my wrist. "I'll catch you." He warns, again reading my thoughts.

"Where are we going?" I ask lightly, as he ties my wrists together behind me with a rough knot of rope, trying not to sound afraid. He lets me walk for myself, guiding me with the occasional push or direction.

"You'll figure it out." He answers roughly, poking me forward. "Turn right."

We walk in silence for what seems like an hour, though I know it's much less. I recognize the woods, every tree or overturned rock, and it calms me, being in here again. I start to plan. I know now that there's no use in trying to fight my captor without a weapon. I probably could outrun him, if he wasn't expecting it. If I get caught again, though… the risks are high. But if Gale and Peeta listened to what I said, went where I told them, they might find me. I'm not far from Gale's and my spot. One chance…

Suddenly the heavy silence is broken. "So you did find her." The voice is not familiar – smooth, and distinctly female, with a strong Capitol accent. My knees lock beneath me. I can't tell where it came from, or who spoke it – there's no one in sight. "We were starting to worry. You've been gone a long time." The girl continues. Coming from above, I think. My eyes flick up to the treetops where I see the silhouettes of two people sprawled out on the lower branches of a tall pine tree, cast in shadow. Without warning, the smaller of the two – the one who was speaking – drops to the ground, landing catlike in a crouch. "Well," she says, straightening and taking long, graceful steps towards me. As she comes closer, I can make out her features, and these are familiar. Porcelain skin, wide dark eyes – long, deep red hair. "I think it's time we introduced ourselves."


	7. AN: names!

**A/N: This isn't actually part of the story, so I apologize if anyone got all excited. So in the next chapter, I'm introducing a few new characters and maybe another one later on. But I'm totally blank on any name ideas. **

**So if anyone has any name ideas at all that seem like they would sort of fit in with what Suzanne Collins has created (not like Sally or Jim, you know?) then please, ****please****, let me know. Boy's and girls names both. It doesn't matter if they're crazy or weird or whatever. I just need names. Because then I can finish writing the next chapter, and put it up, which I really want to do!**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: I finally got it up! Thanks so much to everyone who gave me ideas for names - I don't think I actually used any of them, but they were all really great. So, please read the chapter and tell me what you think. **

"I know who you are." I say slowly. My voice sounds too loud in the quiet wilderness. Echoing.

"You do?" the redheaded girl raises her eyebrows in surprise, and for a second she looks very young. Younger than me; she can't be older than fourteen. "Oh. Of course." Her face relaxes into a half-smile, and the youth is gone. It makes my stomach twinge nervously. She takes a step closer to me, so that we're hardly a foot apart, and then shakes her head. "No. You don't know me," she continues, confusingly. I don't understand what she's saying. I don't understand any of this. "You know my sister."

"What?" I ask stupidly, blinking. "No, no – that's…" I shake my head, trying to clear it. She leans away from me, beckoning the other person in the tree to come down, before facing me again. "That's insane." I finish lamely.

"Makes more sense than the alternative." She smirks. "Which is that I _am_ my sister, the escaped Avox who's suddenly found her voice and managed to get to the very edge of district twelve without being captured. Again." She deadpans. "Believe me, this makes much more sense." The other person from the tree, a boy, has gotten to the ground and is walking towards where we stand. The boy behind me releases his grip, cuts the ties on my wrists. I could run – I know that I _should_ run, but my feet feel cemented to the ground.

"So then who are you?" I demand. The boy from behind me has moved and is now standing next to the redhead; he towers over her, as thick and strong as any of the trees that surround us. His skin is a tanned, nutty brown and his hair looks like it's just growing out of a brutally short cut. There's something that I recognize about him, but I can't quite think of it. It's not really important now, anyway…

The other boy, from the tree, has reached us. He stands on the other side of the girl, tall and lanky, with blue-black hair that hangs in his eyes and slight smirk, though I don't know why he'd be happy – there are the beginnings of a massive bruise on his right temple, just starting to color.

"This is Asher." She nods to the massive boy, who, despite his size, looks no more than sixteen. "And Caden." She gestures to the slighter boy on her other side, and he grins at me. She's smiling slightly, too. _For kidnappers, these people seem oddly friendly_, I think.

"I'm Arilea."

"Right. Nice to meet you." I give them a tight smile. "I guess it's safe to assume you already know who I am?"

Arilea's smile grows. "How could we not? You're famous."

"Legendary." The dark-haired boy, Caden, adds.

"Caden." She shoots him a look.

"What? It's the truth." He says easily. "That's why we need you." He adds, giving me a serious look.

"Need me? For what?" I ask skeptically, raising an eyebrow, as Arilea flings an arm out to smack him so quickly I can only see a blur, but Caden, almost as if expecting it, dodges her neatly. "What, you want me to kill someone for you?" I suggest bitterly, shaking my head.

"No – " Arilea inserts earnestly, taking a step towards me, and I get that flash of her youth again, and it makes me angry. What control does she have on me? She's a child – hardly older than Prim. And then I remember what they did in the square and how they took me away from her and my mother; how Prim could be hurt now, and I'm being held hostage in these woods, useless, in the place that used to be my sanctuary.

Anger and frustration fill me and suddenly I'm screaming at them. "Or, what, are you mad at me? Because I won? Because you think I want to take on the Capitol?" I shout, hurling my words at them.

"Why would I be mad at you? You saw what they did to my sister!" Arilea yells back. She starts toward me angrily, but Caden throws an arm out, catching her around the middle, holding her back.

"Lea," he says quietly, warningly.

"It's not like I can help her." I say coldly. There was a time, I know, when I could have, but not anymore. "Find someone else."

To my surprise, the three of them suddenly still. Arilea's ducks her head, her cheeks blooming with color that matches her hair and Asher stares at me defiantly, if somewhat nervously. It's Caden who gives it away though, when his eyes flick to one of the particularly thick clump of bushes and brambles around us, and back again.

Unthinkingly, I sprint all out at the bushes, tearing through them. Without warning the ground falls out from under me, and I'm tumbling down, down, down, careening downhill into the ravine I didn't realize was there. Along the way, I hit something hard and jagged and I can feel the sting as it rips the fabric of my shirt. I cover my hands with my face as I roll, trying to shield myself from the sharp rocks that jut out of the hillside.

Abruptly, I hit something solid, but not hard exactly, and I stop rolling, landing sprawled out in the soft dirt.

"Nice landing." Says a voice from behind me that's instantly familiar.

"Gale!" I exclaim, throwing my arms around him.

"You're an idiot, Katniss." He says in response. I pull away, so that I'm on my knees beside him, and I notice the boy sitting a few feet to the right.

"Peeta," I breathe, seeing for the first time the thick knots of rope tied around both boy's wrists and ankles.

"Katniss." His wrists strain at their ties. "Are you alright? What happened to you?" Peeta says, noting the tear of fabric that bares my collarbone.

"I'm fine." I shake my head, wipe at a scratch on my cheek.

"Katniss, where's Prim?" Gale asks. I look over at him, see his silver-gray eyes searching my face, and I remember all over again how stupid I was to ever let her go. I'm about to tell him that I don't know, when someone answers for me.

"She and your mother are in the bakery." Asher says in his gruff voice, striding down the steep hill. "With your family." He adds, turning his stony gaze to Peeta.

"We led them there so they would be safe." Arilea insists, sliding gracefully down after him, Caden at her side. "We don't mean harm to them or you."

"And what about Gale's family?" I demand angrily.

"Gale wasn't part of the plan." Caden says, looking at Gale coldly. "Obviously." I look down at where Gale is sitting on the ground and see that he's gazing steadily at the bruise on Caden's temple.

"You did that?" My eyes flick back and forth between the two boys.

"Reflex reaction." Gale says, unconcerned, looking up at me and I note the long gash that cuts across his cheek, a slow trickle of blood running down his face; how did I not see it before?

"You don't mean any harm? So tying up my friends, blowing up the square, and kidnapping me – "

"Well we're sorry. Okay? It was the only way." Caden insists as he cuts their ropes with a short, handled knife that tapers off to a deadly point. Gale rises fluidly to his feet and crosses quickly to my side, but Peeta, with his leg, moves a little more slowly.

"The only way to _what_?"

"We told you," Arilea says slowly. "We need your help."

I'm about to start shouting again, but Gale cuts me off. "To do what?" The three of them exchange a look, as if deciding what exactly to say.

"We need you to help us take down the Capitol."

* * *

A/N: I had a really hard time writing this chapter, but I like the way it turned out. Please read and review. Also, for future reference, the names are pronounced like this:  
Asher: should be obvious, really.  
Caden: Cay-den  
Arilea: Air-i-leah


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